Method for assembling a centrifugal blower wheel



June I, 1965 H. A. AUSTIN ETAL METHOD FOR ASSEMBLING A CENTRIFUGAL BLOWER WHEEL 18 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 1, l96l INVENTORJ #04040 "7. flu: rwv HA THUR/V. WA; 00

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June 1965 H. A. AUSTIN ETAL 3,136,063

METHOD FOR ASSEMBLING A CENTRIFUGAL BLOWER WHEEL Filed Aug. 1, 1961 18 Sheets-Sheet 2 I3 7 lo 2 uvwszvrons M72040 H. Hus 7'//V HATHUR M. Wqwo BY WW My 6 1,.

I04 f I03 E HTTORIVE'Y-S' H. A. AUSTIN ETAL June 1, 1965 METHOD FOR ASSEMBLING A CENTRIFUGAL BLOWER WHEEL Filed Aug. 1. 1961 18 Sheets-Sheet 3 N V 5V TORS 057M! Hf? THUR M. W84 00 HTTOANEYS' June 1, 1965 H. A. AUSTIN ETAL 3,186,068

METHOD FOR ASSEMBLING A CENTRIFUGAL BLOWER WHEEL Filed Aug. 1, 1961 18 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN V EN TORS h HRaLo H. flUJT/IV fixer/11mm. Wm 00 BY 1140M Ww'w June 1, 1965 H. A. AUSTIN ETAL METHOD FOR ASSEMBLING A CENTRIFUGAL BLOWER WHEEL Filed Aug. 1, 1961 18 Sheets-Sheet 5 m mfi E we m m "M H June 1, 1965 H. A. AUSTIN ETAL METHQD FOR ASSEMBLING A CENTRIFUGAL BLOWER WHEEL 18 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Aug. 1, 1961 ATTORNEYS June 1, 1965 H. A. AUSTIN ETAL 3,186,053

METHOD FOR ASSEMBLING A CENTRIFUGAL BLOWER WHEEL Filed Aug; 1, 1961 18 Sheets-Sheet 8 79 15 62 I as s5 66 XI 2n n L IN VE J ##4040 /7. 705

A TURNS YS' June 1, 1965 H. A. AUSTIN ETAL 3,186,068

METHOD FOR ASSEMBLING A CENTRIFUGAL BLOWER WHEEL Filed Aug. 1, 1961 18 Sheets-Sheet 9 a: W W- 45 f 1/1.

I QM IN V EN TORS Hana: Him/5 7A! HRTHUR M. WHLDO H 7' TORAEY-S' June 1, 1965 H. A. AUSTIN ETAL 3,186,068

METHOD FOR ASSEMBLING A CENTRIFUGAL BLOWER WHEEL Filed Aug. 1, 1961 18 Sheets-Sheet 10 use I69 n9 g INVENTORS f/HROLOHHUSTl/V BY fixer/10R M. Wnwa a/mmdw w H 7' TORNE 75' June 1, 1965 H. A. AUSTIN ETAL 3,186,068

METHOD FOR ASSEMBLING A CENTRIFUGAL BLOWER WHEEL INVENTORS Haeau: H. Ru: 7'//\/ Y fiRTl-IUR M. Wx-u 00 WW sham/x1744 A TTOR/YE Y5 June 1, 1965 H. A. AUSTIN ETAL METHOD FOR ASSEMBLING A GENTRIFUGAL BLOWER WHEEL Filed Aug. 1, 1961 18 Sheets-Sheet 12 sw m, an? Tf V: WW w M flaw f 7 u 7 mm a 2% W June 1, 1965 H. A. AUSTIN ETAL METHOD FOR ASSEMBLING A CENTRIFUGAL BLOWER WHEEL Filed Aug. 1, 1961 1a Sheets-Sheet 13 INVENTORS. fl/r/mw A HUJ'Tl/Y BY HA THUR/W. W52 00 A? 35 WW My 7% June 1, 1965 H. A. AUSTIN ETAL METHOD FOR ASSEMBLING A CENTRIFUGAL BLOWER WHEEL Filed Aug. 1, 1961 18 Sheets-Sheet 15 BY Wndaou wan/ 144 June 1, 1965 H. A. AUSTIN ETAL 3,186,068

METHOD FOR ASSEMBLING A CENTRIFUGAL BLOWER WHEEL Filed Aug. 1, 1961 18 Sheets-Sheet 16 7| XXII ATTORNEY! June 1, 1965 H. A. AUSTIN ETAL 3,186,063

METHOD FOR ASSEMBLING A CENTRIFUGAL BLOWER WHEEL Filed Aug. 1, 1961 18 Sheets-Sheet 1'? 2 zfzas 23a JNVENTORS Z5 Hmaazo/Zfiusmv By Her/90x A1. Wm 00 mm Mwfl HTTORJYEKS' United States Patent O 3,136,068 METHOD FGR ASSEMBLING A CEN'IRIFUGAL BLGWER WHEEL Harold A. Austin, Kalamazoo, Mich, and Arthur M.

Waldo, Toiedo, Ohio, assignors to The Brundage Company, Kalamazoo, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Filed Aug. 1, 1961, Ear. No. 129,498 5 Claims. (El. 29-1568) This invention relates in general to a method for assembling a centrifugal blower wheel having a pair of spaced, circular and coaxial end members secured to the opposite ends of a plurality of substantially identical and uniformly spaced blades. More particularly, this invention relates toa method whereby said members are intermittently and unidirectionally rotated while said blades are moved into engagement with said members and then secured thereto, 'such moving and securing being effected entirely automatically. This application is a continuation-in-part of application, Serial No. 652,525 entitled Apparatus for Assembling a Centrifugal Blower Wheel filed April 12, 1957, now Patent Number 2,996,788.

It has been standard practice for many years to assemble centrifugal blower wheels, such asdouble furnace fan wheels, almost entirely by hand. Insofar as it is known, no machine has ever been provided whereby the blower blades are automatically moved from a source of supply of said blades into position between a pair of blower wheel end members, such as end rings or rims, and are then secured to the end members without any manual operation whatsoever being involved from the time the blades commence their movement toward the end members, until the wheel is completely fabricated.

All of the usual methods of manufacturing blower wheels require some means for securing the blades to the end members of the blower wheel, such as welding, riveting, spinning, or the like. However, before the blades can be secured, they must be properly positioned. Machines have been developed to secure the blades to the end members after the blades have been positioned, but some are rotated unidirectionally and intermittently, and then securing said blades with respect to said end members, after which the completed wheel is moved away from said assembly position.

A further object of this invention hasbeen the provision of a method, .as aforesaid, whereby said blower wheel may 1 be fabricated more accurately, with greater uniformity, with less danger of injury to persons associated with the fabrication of said wheel, with less time required, and with greater ease than heretofore possible with any machines or methods presently or previously available.

A further object of this invention has been the provision of a method, as aforesaid, including a stepwise applied and heat utilizing, securing operation, as welding or hot riveting, wherein the intermittent, unidirectional rotation of said end members above mentioned is sequenced so that said securing operation will avoid concentration of the heat in any one area of the said end members and will thereby minimize any tendency to warp them.

A further object of this invention has been the provision of a method, as aforesaid, wherein the source of supply of said blades may be integrated with the assembly of the blades.

Other objects and purposes of thisinvention will become apparent to persons familiar with this type of art upon reading the following specification and examining IV-IV of FIGURE 2 and including a broken line showing of said welding head and support therefor.

FIGURE 5 is a broken, diagrammatic and oblique view of said machine illustrating a majority of its essential elements as seen from in front of said machine.

FIGURE 6 is a front elevational view ofthe welding head and support therefor, and includes a portion of the remainder of the machine in broken lines.

FIGURE 7 is a diagrammatic view of that portion of said machine shown in FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged fragment of FIGURE 6, including said welding head.

FIGURE '9 is a side view of the welding head shown in FIGURE 8.

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view taken along the line X-X of FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 11 is a sectional view taken along the line XI-XI of FIGURE 10.

FIGURE 12 is an enlarged fragment of FIGURE 11.

FIGURE 13 is an enlarged, broken fragment of the rightward end of said machine, as appearing in FIG- URE 3. i

FIGURE 14 is an enlarged, broken fragment of therightward end of said machine, as appearing in FIG- URE 1.

FIGURE 15 is a sectional view,'substantially as taken along the line XVXV of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 16 is a sectional view taken along the line XVI-XVI of FIGURE 15.

FIGURE 17 is a sectional view taken along the line XVIIXVII of FIGURE 15 FIGURE 18 is a sectional view taken along the line XVIII--XVIII of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 19 is an enlarged, top plan view of the indexing head shown in FIGURE 2, with parts of the fixtures attached to it.

FIGURE 20. is a sectional view taken along the line XX-XX of FIGURE. 19with the guard covers removed.

therefrom.

FIGURE 21 is a sectional view taken along the line.

along the line GENERAL DESCRIPTION For the purpose of convenience in description, the

terms upper, lower, left, right, front, "rear,

3 and derivatives thereof, as used herein, will have reference to the assembly machine and parts thereof as appearing in FIGURE 3. The terms inner, outer, and derivatives thereof, will have reference to the geometric center of said machine and parts thereof.

The objects and purposes set forth above, as well as others related thereto, have been met by a process which can be carried out by an assembly machine 10 (FIG- URES l, 2, 3, 4 and 5) comprising (a) indexing head 15 having index mechanism 11 for supporting and rotating the circular end members of a blower wheel 79, (b) a source of supply of blower blades, such as the press 12, and (c) conveyor mechanism 13 for moving said blades from the press 12 to an assembling position 14 adjacent to the indexing head 15. The indexing head 15 is rotatably supported for movement about a substantially vertical axis and includes a pair of fixtures 16 and 17, which are preferably identical and which are located on opposite sides of the rotational axis of said head. One of said fixtures, here the fixture 17, is in said assembling position 14 (FIGURE 2) when the other fixture 16 is in its loading and discharging position 18 adjacent to the fixture opening and closing mechanism 19. A welding apparatus 21 includes a support structure 22, upon which a welding head 23 is adjustably mounted, as shown in FIGURES 3, 6 and 7, so that said head may engage the fixtures 16 and 17 when they are in the assembling position 14. It will be understood, however, that the specific apparatus and structure described hereinafter for illustrative purposes is not intended to limit the process to the apparatus shown. Rather, the apparatus is illustrative only and may be varied widely within the scope of the invention. However, it is believed that the process of the invention can best be disclosed by disclosing in some detail a machine or machines capable of reducing such process to actual practice. Accordingly, the detailed description set forth hereinafter is intended for this purpose only.

DETAILED CONSTRUCTION As shown in FIGURES 2, 3, 4 and 19, the indexing head 15 of the machine is supported by a pedestal 26 mounted upon a base frame 27 (FIGURE 4) between the leftward end of the conveyor mechanism 13 and the front end of the discharge mechanism 19. The indexing head is mounted upon a vertical shaft 28, which is rotatably supported within the pedestal 26 and adjustable vertically with respect thereto. Adjustment means, not specifically disclosed, is provided for raising and lowering the indexing head 15 with respect to the supporting pedestal 26. In substance, such adjustment is effected by moving said indexing head upwardly or downwardly along the shaft 28 and then changing the thickness of the horseshoe shim 97 (FIGURE which is disposed between the lower surface of the indexing head frame 37 and a shoulder 98 on said shaft 28. The lower end of the shaft 28 (FIGURES 4 and 18) supports a gear 29, which is engaged by a rack 31, which is horizontally reciprocable in a lengthwise direction by the piston of a drive cylinder 32. The cylinder 32 is connected to a source of fluid pressure, not shown, for ef fecting a 180 oscillation of the shaft 28 through the gear 29 and rack 31. The lengthwise edge of the rack 31 on the opposite side thereof from the gear 29 is provided with a cam 33 engageable with a pair of spaced, rack switches 34 and 35, which are arranged to control the stroke of the cylinder 32, hence the rotation of the shaft 28, in a substantially conventional manner, by controlling the flow of pressure fluid to the cylinder 32. Under normal operating conditions, full actuation of the cylinder 32 in either direction will effect a reversal in the positions of the fixtures 16 and 17, which are mounted upon the indexing head 15.

A detent pin 24 (FIGURES 7, 20 and 21) is vertically reciprocably supported by means of the brackets 24:: upon the pedestal 26 near the upper end thereof. Said pin 24 is connected by a bar 25a to the piston of a detent power cylinder 25 for vertical reciprocation in a substantially conventional manner, said power cylinder also being mounted upon the pedestal 26. Upper and lower detent switches 29 and 30, respectively, are provided on said pedestal 26 for operation by means on said connector bar 25a when in its upper and lower positions, respectively. The detent pin 24 is engageable with the indexing head frame 37 for holding same against rotation when said fixtures 16 and 17 are in said assembling and discharge positions, respectively, or vice versa. A limit arm 36 (FIGURES 7 and 20) extends radially from the drive shaft 28 just above the upper end of the pedestal 26 for engaging limit switches 39 and 40, located at opposite ends of the 180 rotary strokes of the head 15 effected by the rack 31.

(a) Indexing head The indexing head 15 (FIGURES 2 and 19) supports the fixtures 16 and 17 on diametrically opposite sides of the shaft 23 and includes two sets of substantially identical index mechanisms 11 and 11a for eifecting intermittent, unidirectional rotation of said fixtures in a manner discussed in detail hereinafter. Since the mechanisms 11 and 11a supporting and actuating the two said fixtures may be, and in this particular embodiment are, identical, specific detailed reference will be made only to mechanism 11 and the fixtures 16 associated therewith, and such will be understood to apply to the mechanism 11a associated with said fixture 17. Where corresponding parts in the mechanism 11a or on fixture 17 are specifically recited, similar numerals may be used with the sufiix a.

Said mechanism 11 (FIGURE 21) includes a substantially horizontal index shaft 38 which is rotatably supported by conventional bearings upon the indexing head frame 37 on one side of the drive shaft 28 (FIGURES 20 and 21). An index gear 41 is secured to, and rotatable with, said shaft 38 near the right end thereof. A pivot arm 42 is rotatably supported upon said one end of said shaft 38 and extends radially beyond the periphery of the index gear 41. One end of a pawl 43 is pivotally supported upon the outer end 4212 (FIGURE 20) of the pivot arm 42, the other end of said pawl 43 being engageable with the teeth of said gear 41. The outer end 4211 of the pivot arm 42 is also pivotally secured to the piston 44 of a pressure actuated, index cylinder 45 which is pivotally mounted by means of the bracket 46 upon the head frame 3'7. A pawl cam follower 47 (FIG- URE 19) is mounted upon said pawl 43 near said other end thereof for engagement with a pawl cam 48 mounted upon the indexing head frame 37, adjacent to the periphery of the index gear 41. Interengagement of the pawl cam follower 47 with the lower edge of the pawl cam 48 effects positive engagement between the pawl 43 and the gear 41 in one direction of movement of said pawl and effects positive disengagement of said pawl 43 from the gear 41 in the reverse direction of movement of said pawl. In this particular embodiment, the positive engagement between said pawl and said index gear is effected during the extension of the piston 44 by the pressure cylinder 45, thereby etfecting a relatively short, counterclockwise movement of the gear 41, as appearing in FIGURE 20, each time the pressure cylinder 45 is actuated.

An elongated stop member 50 (FIGURE 19) is mounted upon the head frame 37 just above, and substantially parallel with, the cam 48 for engaging the pawl cam follower 47 and thereby guiding the return movement of the pawl 43. A microswitch 49 is mounted upon said indexing head frame 37 near said pawl cam 43 for operation by a switch operator 51 mounted on said outer end 4212 (FIGURE '20) of the pivot arm 42 each time the piston 44 of the pressure cylinder 45 reaches its substantially fully extended position, as shown at 52 in broken lines in FIGURE 20. 

2. IN A PROCESS FOR AUTOMATICALLY ASSEMBLING BLOWER WHEELS FOR CNETRIFUGAL BLOWERS BY USE OF HEAT INDUCING MEANS, EACH WHEEL HAVING A PAIR OF END RINGS, A CENTRAL STRUCTURE AND A PLURALITY OF CURVED BLADES, THE ASSEMBLY BEING SUBJECT TO WARPAGE BY HEAT CONCENTRATION, THE STEPS COMPRISING: SUPPORTING SAID CENTRAL STRUCTURE COAXIALLY BETWEEN, AND SPACED FROM, SAID END RINGS FOR ROTATION AROUND A COMMON AXIS WHILE SAID CENTRAL STRUCTURE AND RINGS ARE IN A LOADING STATION; SIMULTANEOUSLY MOVING SAID CENTRAL STRUCTURE AND RINGS FROM SAID LOADING STATION INTO AN ASSEMBLY STATION WHILE MAINTAINING THE SAME SHAPED AND COAXIAL RELATIONSHIP THEREBETWEEN; SUPPLYING A PLURALITRY OF SAID BLADES TO A SOURCE; ADVANCING SAID BLADES SEQUENTIALLY, UNIFORMLY AND INTERMITTENTLY FROM SAID SOURCE TO A LOCATION NEAR SAID ASSEMBLY STATION; INTERMITTENTLY AND SIMULTANEOUSLY ROTATING SAID CENTRAL STRUCTURE AND RINGS ABOUT THEIR COMMON AXIS WHEREIN THE ANGLES SWEPT BY SAID INTERMITTENT ROTATIONS COMPRISE UNIFORM AND EVEN MULTIPLES OF AT LEAST TWICE THE ANGULAR DISTANCE BETWEEN A PAIR OF ADJACENT ASSEMBLY POSITIONS; SEQUENTIALLY AND INTERMITTENTLY MOVING SOME OF SAID BLADES ONE AT A TIME FROM SAID LOCATION INTO A FIRST GROUP OF ASSEMBLY POSITIONS CLOSELY ADJACENT SAID CENTRAL STRUCTURE AND RINGS, SAID MOVEMENT OF SAID BLADES INTO SAID ASSEMBLY POSITIONS BEING EFFECTED BETWEEN SAID INTERMITTENT ROTATIONS; INTERMITTENTLY SECURING SAID BLADES BY SAID HEAT INDUCING MEANS IN SAID FIRST GROUP OF ASSEMBLY POSITIONS ONE AT A TIME TO SAID END RINGS BETWEEN INTERMITTENT ROTATIONS OF SAID CENTRAL STRUCTURE AND SAID RINGS, WHILE A SECOND GROUP OF SAID BLADES IS BEING SEQUENTIALLY AND SIMULTANEOUSLY MOVED, ONE AT A TIME, INTO A SECOND GROUP OF ASSEMBLY POSITIONS INTERMITTENT THE FIRST GROUP OF ASSEMBLY POSITIONS CLOSELY ADJACENT SAID PAIR OF SAID END RINGS, AND THEREFATER SECURING SAID SECOND GROUP OF BLADES TO SAID PAIR OF END RINGS WHILE SAID END RINGS REMAIN IN SAID ASSEMBLY STATION; HAVING SAID CENTRAL STRUCTURE, SAID RINGS AND THE BLADES SECURED THERETO INTO SAID LOADING STATION; AND RELEASING THE SUPPORT OF SAID CENTRAL STRUCTURE AND SAID RINGS, WHEREBY THE INTERMITTENT SECURING PREVENTS HEAT CONCENTRATION AND MINIMIZES WARPAGE. 